[ITcomputer]

Yes, where is the TTC? How has the TTC progressed with its plans to redevelop the Eglinton station lands? About as well as they have with their online trip planner?

Remember a few years ago, Google offered to give the TTC a trip planner for nothing but ad space? But no, the TTC decided it knows better how to build web tools than the preeminent internet company in the World....as so we wait.

Its probably better to shut the TTC out of the picture. I like the idea of a transit system funded by development but I don't like the idea of the TTC being involved in anything other than their core competency: short turning street cars full of passengers.

funniest statement of the year LOL, but seriously I am still underwhelmed at the TTC's new website, this is what we have been waiting 10 years for? and how much did this thing cost? $400K? what a waste of money, they should have used google tools...

 

[unimaginative2]

A real-estate gold mine loses lustre in nasty times

JOHN BARBER

jbarber@globeandmail.com


October 7, 2008

Add one more to the list of worthy initiatives bushwhacked by vengeful real-estate reality. Could there be a less auspicious time to launch a powerful new public corporation with a mandate to "unlock value" in city-owned real estate?

Like similar policy dreams floating on visions of ever-inflating property values, Mayor David Miller's latest new baby, a would-be real-estate titan to be called Build Toronto, is dissolving even before it takes shape.

That's all the more reason to get it up and running now, according to Blake Hutcheson, the real-estate executive who first came up with the idea as head of the mayor's fiscal review panel, which was set up after last year's tax imbroglio. "It's absolutely the right thing to do at this stage," he told the executive committee yesterday.

But as Mr. Hutcheson frankly admitted, the rationale for creating a freewheeling, well-endowed municipal property company has shifted. Conceived originally as a way to generate revenue without raising taxes, Build Toronto is now necessary, according to Mr. Hutcheson, to support private-sector developers struggling in "a very, very nasty economic time."

A once-touted gold mine turns corporate-welfare scheme. Sound familiar?

Give Mr. Hutcheson credit for candour.

"The private sector needs these opportunities," he said. With nobody else left on the dance floor, the municipal wallflower becomes belle of the ball.

"The city is a partner with equity."

The message appeared to whistle right over the heads of the politicians who heard it. The reality of the depressed market Mr. Hutcheson described did not show itself in the concerns they expressed about Build Toronto. Like the bureaucrats who designed the system according to specifications laid out by the fiscal-review panel, they still see it as a way of making money.

The fact that it is bound to fail in that job, barring miraculous relief from a global credit crisis, does not undercut the need for Build Toronto. The city can only benefit from the consolidation and rationalization of its scattered real-estate holdings. When the cry goes up for government intervention to kick-start stalled development, Build Toronto will be ready and able to oblige.

"I don't think Canada quite realizes it, but this is going to be a very, very nasty economic time," Mr. Hutcheson said. The city's real-estate portfolio will be one of its few strengths, he added. "It's probably the best asset we have, and it's time to unlock it."

The shifting rationale for Build Toronto is the latest evidence of the vulnerability of policies that depended on real-estate profits rather than government subsidies. Even more precarious are the social initiatives, especially the Toronto Community Housing Corporation's efforts to rehabilitate neglected projects with money earned from private-sector redevelopment. The province's showpiece West Donlands neighbourhood, which crashed at vast expense during the last real-estate crisis, is equally vulnerable.

Even the development of the East Bayfront, which would have been easy in yesterday's market, looks dodgy today. Waterfront planners are hoping the development will help finance all kinds of cultural goodies. They'll be lucky to get any building at all in the next few years, let alone the extras.

But what Toronto will have, just in time for the worst of it, is a powerful new real-estate company well-suited to dispense needed welfare.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's an absolute disgrace that the TTC dawdled for a decade on developing its lands during the biggest boom in history. Why wasn't Eglinton station redeveloped five years ago? They could have made tens of millions on that site alone.

 

[TrickyRicky]

"Could there be a less auspicious time to launch a powerful new public corporation with a mandate to "unlock value" in city-owned real estate?"

These were my thoughts exactly. I realize the political reality of how difficult it is to change and organize. I really really want to believe that a public investment agency of this nature can exist that is competent and accountable. Let's see what they can do but my bet is corruption, fire sale asset sales and 99-year leases signed for peanuts.

 

[Whoaccio]

On the plus side, if Waterfront Toronto is a guideline, by the time Build Toronto actually gets around to doing something we should be back into the boom cycle.

 

[Dan416]

We now have Waterfront Toronto, Build Toronto, and Invest Toronto. What's next? TDSB becomes Educate Toronto? TTC becomes Move Toronto (Slowly?)

 

[Glen]

We now have Waterfront Toronto, Build Toronto, and Invest Toronto. What's next? TDSB becomes Educate Toronto? TTC becomes Move Toronto (Slowly?)

Don't forget the finance department......Screw Toronto.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From the Star:

Build Toronto unveils first four development sites
Published On Wed May 12 2010
Ads by Google
Live at Yonge & St. Clair
John Spears
Business Reporter

City-owned development corporation, Build Toronto, takes the stage Wednesday as a major real estate player — unveiling the first four municipal properties it plans to take to market.

The previously low-profile agency hopes to turn land currently worth about $80 million into developments with a total value of close to ten times more.

And Build Toronto has dozens more properties in, or soon to be in its portfolio — all owned by the city or its agencies such as the Toronto Transit Commission and the Toronto Parking Authority.

It’s now seeking purchasers or partners to develop the properties and deliver them to market.

Build Toronto is taking the wraps off the plan Wednesday at a Toronto Board of Trade breakfast.

The first four sites slated for development:

1035 Sheppard Ave. W., a 54-acre site on the southwest corner of Sheppard and the Allen Expressway, beside the Downsview subway station. Build Toronto wants to develop a “Downsview Corporate Centre”, consisting of 2 million square feet of office space, next door to the subway. On the rest of the site it’s looking for 3,000 residential units, with a combination of high and low rise buildings. Total value when developed: $400-$500 million.

154 Front St. E. at Sherbourne St. The 0.78 acre property, which currently houses a bus parcel express depot, is slated for a residential development of up to 350,000 square feet, with some retail space. Value when developed: $100 million.

260 Eighth St., near Islington Ave. and Lakeshore Blvd. A 24-acre industrial site. TEDCO, a predecessor company of Build Toronto, turned an adjacent site into a parcel delivery depot. Value when developed: $50 million.

4050 Yonge St. at York Mills Rd. The 2-acre property is now a parking lot for the York Mills subway station. The plan is for a 400,000 square foot office building, seven to eight stories high, with a green roof. The TTC is considering moving its headquarters into the building, but another possible tenant is also interested. Value when developed: $160 million.

Build Toronto will probably sell its residential properties outright, but is likely to seek partners and maintain an ownership stake in commercial developments.

Unlike most developers, Build Toronto has an affordable housing mandate dictated by its shareholder, the city. The company must deliver a minimum of 1,000 units of affordable housing on its properties during its first five years.

It’s also expected to deliver buildings that meet high environmental and design standards, spur job creation and contribute to general “city-building.”

Initially, it has to get some money flowing to finance its own activities, but ultimately the goal is to deliver some substantial profits to Toronto’s chronically empty coffers.

The corporate plan contemplates putting half a dozen more properties on the market by the end of the year.

The first properties to be put up for development generally have zoning already in pace, and have travelled at least some way through the environmental assessment process.

Some prime properties, such as the derelict bus barns at Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave., now fenced off and growing weeds, present more complex technical challenges because of transit plans that will affect the site. They’ll likely be slated for later development.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/808012--build-toronto-unveils-first-four-development-sites

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From the Globe:

Build Toronto set to unveil its first four major projects
City agency tasked with extracting value from underused municipal lands

Kelly Grant
City Hall bureau chief — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

The city’s fledgling development agency will announce its first major projects Wednesday, including plans for a sprawling 22-hectare office and residential complex next to the Downsview subway station.

The other sites on Build Toronto’s quick-hit list are a vacant industrial lot in Etobicoke and a potential condo site at Front and Sherbourne streets, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Build Toronto, created to unlock the value of underused municipal land, has been criticized for proceeding too slowly in the year since city council approved handing it 31 surplus properties. More recently, the agency was denounced for moving too quickly and quietly on a possible new TTC headquarters, the fourth major project Build Toronto chief executive Lorne Braithwaite is expected to highlight in a breakfast speech to the Toronto Board of Trade Wednesday.

Mr. Braithwaite’s address is intended to deflect the early criticism and declare the agency “open for business,†Build Toronto sources said.

The agency has devoted the past year to assessing its stable of 31 properties, the value of which it has pegged at $200-million before improvements or zoning adjustments. Council approved the transfer of six more surplus sites Tuesday.

All the properties on Build’s initial list have undergone the first phase of an environmental assessment; about half have undergone the second phase of an EA and a geotechnical study.

That groundwork has led the agency to conclude it would take at least five years to develop one of its most sought-after sites, the old TTC bus bay at the corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, according to the sources.

In the meantime, Build Toronto executives are focusing their attention on the first four sites.

The potential TTC headquarters at 4050 Yonge Street – which would be built with a private-sector partner on the commuter parking lot at York Mills station – is considered a “signature†project for the agency, despite flak from mayoral front-runner George Smitherman.

Build Toronto is optimistic it can seal a long-term lease with the TTC in the next 90 days, the sources said. Failing that, the agency is negotiating at the same time with other unnamed corporate tenants who could fill the 440,000-square-foot office tower.

The most ambitious of Build Toronto’s early targets is 1035 Sheppard Ave. West, 22 hectares of land southeast of Sheppard and the Allen Expressway. A new Downsview Corporate Centre would be the heart of the mixed residential and commercial development. Build came close to luring Procter & Gamble Inc. from its current digs at Yonge and Sheppard as an anchor tenant, the sources said.

The sources said Build Toronto expects the swiftest turnaround on the parcel at Front and Sherbourne, which Build Toronto would likely sell outright to a residential condo developer for the agency’s first cash return.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...its-first-four-major-projects/article1565632/

AoD

 

[taal]

hmm the idea sounds great, but the attempted luring of Procter and Gamble scares me ... a lot in fact.

What's the idea here? To spread employment across the 416? Moving one company to another location from an already employment zoned (and a pretty good one at that) to another seems like a mistake in the long term.

Why are they not focusing on luring companies that are currently not in Toronto? If they need to expand, and that can't be done at their current site, that's another story.

 

[Oliver Tweed]

hmm the idea sounds great, but the attempted luring of Procter and Gamble scares me ... a lot in fact.

What's the idea here? To spread employment across the 416? Moving one company to another location from an already employment zoned (and a pretty good one at that) to another seems like a mistake in the long term.

Why are they not focusing on luring companies that are currently not in Toronto? If they need to expand, and that can't be done at their current site, that's another story.

It doesn't matter where the tenant is from. There could be many reasons why P&G would move. Besides, it opens up their old location for someone else. This is good for the city.

 

[taal]

It doesn't matter where the tenant is from. There could be many reasons why P&G would move. Besides, it opens up their old location for someone else. This is good for the city.

hmm, I see your logic to a certain degree but what makes you sure their old locatoin would actually be filled ... even if it were, it's much more likely to be filled by many many small firms and getting a P&G like replacement would be difficult to impossible.

I'm just saying why not focus on the 905, focus on companies that have relocated there. The location around downview has got to be one of the most attractive in the GTA for a variety of reasons ... transit / hi-ways, and likely an abodunance of parking i.e. it has suburban like qualities that can suit some of those tenants that moved out of the 416 ...

 

[Oliver Tweed]

I'm just saying why not focus on the 905, focus on companies that have relocated there. The location around downview has got to be one of the most attractive in the GTA for a variety of reasons ... transit / hi-ways, and likely an abodunance of parking i.e. it has suburban like qualities that can suit some of those tenants that moved out of the 416 ...

If firms want to move, they'll look that their need to be in the 416 versus the costs and benefits. I don't think you can specifically lure a company that doesn't want to come just by reaching out to them. The numbers have to make sense. Remember that this is still essentially a suburban location. It probably has more in common with areas in the 905 than it does with, say, King and Bay.

 

[taal]

If firms want to move, they'll look that their need to be in the 416 versus the costs and benefits. I don't think you can specifically lure a company that doesn't want to come just by reaching out to them. The numbers have to make sense. Remember that this is still essentially a suburban location. It probably has more in common with areas in the 905 than it does with, say, King and Bay.

You hit it on the nail ... so why not go after suburban clients vs luring a company that's in a semi-urban enviornment currently.

What's the problem ? Taxes in Toronto to high? Otherwise why wouldn't some 905 companies chose to relocate to downview - unless they want to custom build something.
And is build Toronto offering deals on tax breaks as well - serving as incentive.

 

[Oliver Tweed]

What's the problem ? Taxes in Toronto to high?

This is my understanding, yes.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Info Sheet on the Downsview project with rendering:

http://www.buildtoronto.ca/documents/properties-1035-Sheppard.pdf

AoD